Birthright 2012: Israel Goes Green: Where’s the Water?

Miss me? Well, after surviving finals week, I trekked over the Atlantic to the land of my forefathers, the State of Israel. As a country filled with over 5,000 years of history, there was much to learn, a ton of places to explore, and many, many adventures to be had. However, there’s much more to Israel than its historical, political, and religious significance (though these shouldn’t be ignored). Israel is the number one nation in the world for startup greentech and cleantech, and is a leader in the world of sustainability.

History of Sustainability in Israel: I’m Thirsty

Israel may have been known as the biblical Land of Milk and Honey, but while it may overflow with these liquids, there’s one it seriously lacks – water. As with many other nations in the Middle East, Israel is mostly arid land, and a good portion of the country, which is roughly the size of New Jersey, is covered by the Negev Desert. This lack of water has been a major issue throughout history, but each of the peoples, kingdoms, empires, and countries who have controlled the land have had their own unique and successful ways of solving the problem.

One of the earliest governing bodies of Israel following the Jewish diaspora were a group of Hellenistic Greeks, led by the builder of much of ancient Israel, King Herod. To bring water to those who needed it, Herod started, and the Romans finished, a series of aqueducts along the coast, much like this one in Caesaria:

Aqueduct in Caesaria, Israel

As power changed hands in the final century BCE, the Romans continued to expand their power over Israel, now known as Judea, and with that power came more and more aqueducts. Water began to play an even more significant role, as the Romans used more water than any civilization up to this point. In addition to irrigation for farming and drinking water, the Romans needed water for their vast palaces, theaters, hippodromes and gardens. One thing that they didn’t seem the squander water on, however, were their public toilets.  These toilets, like the one below, were meeting places for the important people of the land. However, Roman toilets were technically extremely sustainable – no flushing means almost no water used, and there was no waste of paper as they used reusable brushes in place of toilet paper. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest reverting to these toilets. I may love the environment, but I’m sanitary).

Ancient Roman Toilet (With some friends)

As the Middle Ages dawned, Roman power fell and Muslim power reigned over Israel, the Crusades began, with the intention of regaining the Holy Land. Like in Europe, the Crusader knights built fortresses with walls and moats – but with a twist for the Middle East. Their moats? They were dry. Basically, they were super deep pits, with smooth, unscalable walls, just like this one in Caesaria:

Crusader moat in Caesaria

Crusader fortresses, as with any other stronghold in Israel or the Middle East in general, needed to be built to survive siege. This didn’t just mean that they needed to be strong enough to withstand the battle, but they needed to be able to store massive amounts of water in order to stay alive during sieges which could last months. To solve this problems, these fortresses were built with giant cisterns like the one below.

Cistern from the top of a Crusader fortress in Tzfat

Exploring the cistern in Tzfat

Following the Crusader period, power continued to change hands once again. Eventually, under the Ottomans and the British Mandate of Palestine, Zionists began settling the countryside. Like with all other periods of time, water became a major issue. These new towns were differently organized than in the past. Instead of aqueducts and cisterns, water towers were built. The water tower below is one of the most famous in Israel, having been built with money donated by the famous Baron Edmund de Rothschild, one of the biggest philanthropic donators to Zionism.

“Benjamin’s Pool,” the water tower in Zichron Ya’akov

Israeli Sustainability Today: Water, Water Everywhere

With such a vast and colorful history of water conservation, it’s no wonder that Israel is the way it is now. As previously mentioned, Israel is the number one country in the world for cleantech and greentech startup investments, and has created some of the most important technologies in water conservation.

Israel is credited with the invention of what is potentially the most important water conservation technologies in our modern world: Drip Irrigation. One of the most important improvements in the system was made by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu in Israel, and involved the use of plastics in the system. The Blass system uses larger and longer openings to disperse the water, using velocity to their advantage.

Tomatoes and cucumbers growing in the Negev

Drip irrigation changed farming forever, especially in the Middle East. The south of Israel, which is covered by the Negev desert, has now begun to be a booming agricultural site, growing most of the nation’s produce, and has become a hotspot for Thai immigrants to come work the fields. I actually shouldn’t say fields, because most of this agriculture is grown alternatively – in netted greenhouses, in tracked rows raised above the ground, and in a whole bunch of other ways. This way, farmers get the advantages of the Negev’s climate – the heat and air are good for many crops – while being able to directly control the water intake of each plant. In the system shown below, water is slowly released into the soil in the hanging trays, then trickles down to the bottom and drips down the slightly angled rows to a collection tube, which collects the water and recycles it to water the plants again.

Strawberries being grown above ground in the Negev

With farming, water isn’t the only concern. Many farms, just like the one I was fortunate enough to visit, are also concerned with producing organic, GMO-free, pesticide- and chemical-free produce as well. Much of the produce is grown netted in, and Israeli companies are credited with the invention of a specifically bred insect that eats the bugs and parasites that threaten farms around the world.

One invention, while not invented by an Israeli, has taken Israel by storm: the Dual Flush Toilet. Invented by Australian inventor Bruce Thompson in 1980, this toilet works more like an airplane toilet than a traditional toilet, using gravity rather than a siphon to remove waste. The toilet has two flushing options – more or less water – activated by two different levers or buttons, to be used for two different bathroom situations (I don’t think I need to explain which is which). The toilet is effective – there’s an average of 67% water use savings when used correctly  a majority of the time. Sure, it’s a little more expensive, but it’ll pay off in the end. In Israel, a nation where water is scarce, the extra cash upfront is worth it, and it’s actually uncommon NOT to see a dual flush toilet everywhere you go.

Conclusion

My 9th grade Global History teacher once told me (and every student she’s ever had): Geography is Destiny. Three simple words, exemplified by Israel better than perhaps any other nation in the world. A state seriously lacking in water, it has found ways throughout history to fix this problem. In modern times, it’s no wonder Israel is at the top of the sustainability game – it has to be.

Finals Week Spring 2012:

Finals week stressing you out? Well, it’s stressing the environment too. Think about it – during finals week, your lights are on longer and later, you’re working through paper like nothing else, eating and throwing out tons of packaged food and bottled water – it’s a bigger impact than many would realize. Of course, let’s not forget that at the end of the year, cleaning out your dorm room in going to be stressful and wasteful swell. We all know the old tips and tricks about de-stressing yourself, but how can we help the environment? Here’s a few good ways:

1. Recycle your books. It’s the end of the semester, and you probably don’t need that calculus textbook anymore – nor do you probably want it! Instead of throwing it out, or just letting it sit around unused. Why not “recycle” your books by selling them to friends, acquaintances, random people on Facebook, or even back to the bookstore. Not only will you save paper by not having to have another book printed (the laws of supply and demand will take care of that one) but you’ll also make back a good portion of your money to buy your own books for next semester – which you also can and should purchase used and from others. Of course, on either side of the transaction, don’t sell or buy books that aren’t in good condition.
2. Shut off your computer. You heard me right. Well, read me right. When you study, shut off your computer. Maybe add the iPad and smartphone to that too. You’ll save a ton of energy – you won’t be using nearly as much power – but you’ll also save time.  Shut down that computer and study, and by the time your done you’ll have time to goof around on Facebook.
3. Eat healthy snacks. I know, it sounds like something your mother told you when you were at home. Remember the SATs? AP tests? Your teachers probably reminded you to bring two things – something to write with and a healthy snack. Well, healthy snacks are good for more than just you. They do boost brain power, and don’t put preservatives and other chemicals into your system, but they also don’t do that to the environment. An apple, or a banana is entirely biodegradable, and will therefore be much healthier for the environment too.
4. Donate your stuff. Cleaning out your room? Don’t throw out anything – not that T-shirt you got for free from a club you’re not in, not that TV that you never used and won’t need next year ’cause your roommate’s is bigger, not even that tissue sitting in the corner. (OK, throw out the tissue. Please.) Almost everything you don’t want anymore, and that you can’t sell to a friend can be donated to charity. There are plenty of people in this world who could really use that old jacket you won’t need anymore since you’re graduating and moving back to Florida. Of course, our good friends supply and demand (full post about them coming soon!) will help prevent more waste.
5. Pass! There’s nothing more sustainable than not having to retake a class.

Good luck everyone!

Recycled Mollys: You Are What You Drink

One of the Mollys in late stages of construction.

Hey SU Students! Have you been by Schine and Newhouse this week? Wondering what those statues are you’ve seen or heard about? Well, they’re called Recycled Mollys, and there here to take back the tap. The display, designed and created by the Sustainability Division here at SU, is based off similar projects at other schools. Here, however, it was decided to focus on the dangers of bottled water. The statues, which are sustainable plastic molds of people, are filled with water bottles to show the campus how many bottles we each waste. Surrounding the Mollys, and being held by them, are signs denoting a wide variety of water bottle facts – how much oil, water, energy, etc is wasted each year to make them, and more.

One of the most striking facts, due in part to the actual composition of the Mollys, is about the health effects of bottled water. Many people assume that bottled water, since its processed, is probably regulated pretty well, right? Wrong. Actually, tap water is significantly more regulated, and doesn’t contain all of the preservatives and taste-changing chemicals that bottled water does. When you look at these statues, wondering why they’re filled with water bottles, remember that if you don’t drink tap, this is what you might as well look like.

Celebrate Earth Day the Easy Way!

The Earth flag is not an official flag, since there is no official governing body over Earth. The flag holds a photo transfer of a NASA image of the Earth on a dark blue background. It has been associated with Earth Day. Although the flag was originally copyrighted, a judge ruledhttp://www.tabberone.com/Trademarks/CopyrightLaw/Copyrightability/articles/EarthFlagVsAlamoFlag_A.shtml that the copyright was invalid. Earth Flag Ltd. v. Alamo Flag Co., 154 F. Supp. 2d 663 (S.D.N.Y. 2001) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Earth Day everyone! Created simultaneously in 1969 by Senator Gaylord Nelson UNESCO‘s John McConnell and first celebrated on April 22nd, 1970, Earth Day is a celebration of all things awesome about the environment. Here’s some ways to celebrate in a sustainable way:

1. Go outside! It’s nice out. Go play catch, take a bike ride, play a game of soccer. Do something outside. The only energy it will use is your own – nothing more environmentally friendly than that!
2. Recycle last night’s cans. I’m talking to you, college students. We know you partied. Just make sure those cans get recycled, ok?
3. Buy a water bottle. A reusable one of course. Buy a gift for mother nature – and yourself – to celebrate. The 5 dollars you spend today will mean a lot more savings to you and the planet down the road.
4. Make a donation. Donate to an environmental chariot – the NWF, WWF, COEJL, etc.
5. Make a commitment. Today is the day you start doing something sustainable. Commit today to start using a reusable shopping bag, or to walk to work instead of taking the subway. If (and when!) you’re successful, add another one on next year!

Enjoy!

Recycling 101: 3 Case Studies

During the first breakout session of this year’s Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium (NECSC) Conference, held this year in the Syracuse University Sheraton, presenters from three different colleges and universities presented some case studies about personal experiences with the challenges of campus recycling.

Lorinda Hill: Night Maven

First up was Lorinda Hill, the recycling coordinator at Rockland Community College (RCC), a SUNY school in Suffern, New York. Known for her energy and dedication to her job, she was introduced to the crowd by one of her mottos: “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade – and compost the rest!” Lorinda presented her problem to the group – how can you encourage night students to recycle? She has had major successes with the day students at RCC, using informational signage, integrated learning materials, and her “Recycling Rangers” program, where she awards a sticker to those she sees recycling property. She says that while it may seem childish, it does keep encouraging people. Apparently, both kindergardeners and college students see the value in stickers – and it has been extremely successful.

Ms. Hill explained that despite the success of her daytime recycling campaigns, the smaller yet still significantly sized group of night students were not as environmentally conscious. Her night staff had actually been pulling recyclables from trash bags in order to keep the stream pure, but obviously this couldn’t go on. She had a few theories about why this might be a problem – night students are likely more tired, having often come from a full day of work; they are more distracted; and they are often only on campus for just the one class they are attending, unlike day students, who tend to take multiple classes throughout the day. To get to the root of this problem, Lorinda issued a quick 10-question survey. The results, however, were not necessarily what she expected.

The first question was simple: Do you recycle on campus? Well, most said yes. This conflicted with both the findings of her night staff, as well as with the answers to the following question, “Do you dispose of materials in the proper bin?” to which most replied that they didn’t. Additionally, later questions revealed that students didn’t necessarily know RCC’s recycling policies. Other questions sought to find out if students recycled at home, to see if maybe rebellion against values at home was in fact the cause of the problem.

Though many of the questions provided conflicting or ambiguous answers, some interesting trends could be noticed. The questions revealed that recycling was important to the majority of students – or at least they knew that society expected it to be, since they all generally said they it was important to them. This shows an important shift in the values of our society. Just like children have started to grow up being taught that cigarettes are bad for you and that all people are equal, they too are being taught that our environment is important and we should be taking care of it.

The surveys proved that the students all know that they’re supposed to recycle, they just may not do it for a variety of reasons. Other things often take precedence, or they might just be unaware of recycling polices, as Ms. Hill discovered. Overwhelmingly, however, people did recycle at home. Lorinda and her staff decided that based on these findings, the solution to this problem would be simple: do exactly the same thing they had been doing for the day students. More education, the Recycling Rangers program, and just making people excited and happy to recycle.

Towards Zero Waste: An Initiative for the BU Student Union

Up next were Dennis Carlberg, Sustainability Coordinator, and Sabrina Pashtan, Food Sustainability Coordinator at Boston University, who presented us with the process that has led them and their university to create an environmentally friendly Student Union on its way to achieving zero waste.

Boston University is a large school, with approximately 33,000 students spread across 17 schools and colleges in 329 buildings in the city of Boston, right along the Charles River. There, communication has become a foundation of sustainability. Since the campus sustainability program began in 2009, the coordinators of the program have used the internet to its fullest extent, presenting stunning visual representations of statistics right on their website’s homepage. Additionally, they make constant and consistent use of newsletters sent out to the student body.

Combined with their use of the internet is BU’s “Mug Challenge.” Students are encouraged to always use their own mug at campus/off campus coffee shops, rather than wasteful cardboard cups each time. Most of these shops have actually begun giving small discounts if you use the campus-provided mug, and students have shown an amazing response. The school uses the website Carbonrally.com to take care of the metrics, and three of their schools are in the National Top Five, along with Syracuse University and Notre Dame.

Offline, the school’s environmental-friendliness keeps going strong. The school offers a Green Campus Tour, as well as Green Office certifications for its staff, whose departments compete with an online leader board. On the student side, there is dining hall composting, trayless dining, cardboard boilers, the reusable mug discounts, and more. In fact, they were able to create a shift from 3 to 31% recycling from 2006 to 2012, though now it’s starting to plateau, leading Mr. Carlberg to ask, “What now?”

He decided to start with a “Trash Buddy” program. Trash buddies are little trash cans that sit inside your recycling bins, serving the dual purpose of saving space while reminding the user that there should be much more to reuse than to throw away. Another awesome addition was the placement of “Big Belly” Solar trash compactors around campus, which has reduced trash collection from 14 to 1.6 times per week, saving time, money, and preventing a lot of CO2 emissions that carting away the trash would normally cause. There’s also a program, coordinated with Goodwill, for students to donate anything they would normally have thrown out as the cleaned up to leave for the summer, reducing waste exponentially.

Sabrina Pashtan, Sustainability Coordinator for BU Food Services, stepped up to continue the conversation, focusing on the improvements being made to the George Sherman Student Union, especially in the Food Court. Starting a year or two following the introduction of a sustainability program to the university as a whole, the staff in the Student Union began to receive recycling training, to improve sorting of recyclables and compostables in the back-of-house. Next, compostable tableware was added as an option. But the biggest change came next.

The Union was soon renovated, and 5 sorting stations were added which containing slots for recycling, landfill (trash), and a double slot for compost, to emphasize how much can actually be composted. To help students learn the ropes of these sustainable practices, a “Green Team” of student volunteers who help out incoming freshman during the first few weeks of each year. To keep improving the Student Union, a water bottle filling station was added, and reusable tableware became an option for in-house dining. Condiments, from ketchup to soy sauce, are now served in bulk, and a reusable to-go container program was added to reduce the use of styrofoam and cardboard. Overall, this has resulted in a Green Restaurant certification for the Union, and diversion rate of over 75%!

They’re not stopping there. The success BU has had in the Student Union has caused staff and students alike to ask if it can be spread elsewhere. So now, the same principles governing the Union staff now apply to the Catering staff. All catering events are now waste-free, with the wait staff trained to sort materials while they clean. For non-staffed events, there is a zero-waste pickup program in place. The university could not be happier.

University Recycling: Engaging Students Through Creative Programming

The third and final presentation of the afternoon came from Emily Ball, a Masters Candidate at Clarkson University. Emily works as an intern for Clarkson’s Sustainability Division, and is in charge of their recycling campaign. Emily discussed with us the various methods she used to improve recycling rates at Clarkson.

Emily’s main plan of action was to increase awareness, and subsequently involvement. She started by teaming up with the other interns and plastering the campus in educational materials, including informational signs on all recycling bins around campus. Clarkson is on a zero-sort system, so deciding between plastic/cans/bottles/paper wasn’t the issue. Instead, it was solely a problem of getting students to recycle rather than throw things in the trash.

Ball knew that she had to make recycling easy, so students could get involved and become enthusiastic about it. She tried to get bins out to the students, but ended up having limited success with this initiative, since she had to distribute them by hand on a weekend. She had some success, however, getting funding for three new outdoor recycling bins to be placed around campus, which came with consistent, professional posters to alleviate confusion.

Emily’s biggest success, however, came from the “Recycled Molly” program. These “Mollys” were clear plastic molds of human shapes, made from cellophane and packing tape, filled with recyclable materials. These Mollys were placed around campus in highly visible areas, decked in signs with educational materials. Ball found extreme success in this program, since students were intrigued and amused by the statues, which often took recognizable shapes, such as that of (former) Broncos Quarterback Tim Tebow in his kneeling position. Ball looks to continue with visual pieces like these.

Chief Jake Edwards at NECSC Conference 2012

Today is the start of the annual Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium Conference, being conveniently held this year at the Sheraton at Syracuse University! This morning, leaders in sustainability from college and university campuses all across the northeastern United States filed into the Regency Ballroom at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center for the first event of the day, a panel with Presidents of a few local universities - SUNY Empire State, RIT, Onondaga Community College, and our neighbor, ESF’s own Cornelius Murphy - who sat down to discuss a variety of sustainability topics, and how they have related to their work at their respective universities. However, the centerpiece of the day came just around 2 pm, when Chief Jake Edwards, of the Onondaga Nation Council of Chiefs, rose to give his keynote address.

Chief Edwards, who was speaking in the place of Onondaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons, who was called to important business in Washington DC, has long been an advocate for sustainability and environmental rights. He currently is working for the restoration and preservation of Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake, as well as working to prevent hydrofracking in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, as well as promoting general sustainable living.

With his calm, peaceful demeanor, Edwards stepped to the podium and began to greet us with the traditional opening words of his people. Spoken in Onondagan, the greeting is meant to bring all those who are gathered together into one mindset. Within its words, the greeting offers thanks to the creator, and a thanksgiving for all things in this world, especially natures gifts. It thanks the creator for all the medicines, the three sisters, the waters (considered the lifeblood) of the earth, the thunder beings who replenish streams, the winds, the sun, grandmother moon, stars, and, interestingly, future generations. The greeting presents the core beliefs of the Onondagan people, which are shared by many indigenous folk – that we must give thanks to the land that has given us so much.

As Chief Edwards went on to explain, there is no word for “environment” in his language. To the Onondagan people, we are all a part of the environment. There is no difference between us and anything else living – we all need sun, water, food, and air, and we need to acknowledge that. According to the Onondagans, we need to share our Mother Earth – the key word being “our.” The word is completely inclusive – it includes every living being. We all share Mother Earth, and we are all responsible to take care of her as we would our kin. Just like an aging relative, it is our duty to take care of Mother Earth. As Edwards said, “There is no distinction between nature and all of us here in this room.” You cannot separate yourself from the air you are breathing. He references a conversation front the President’s panel, reminding us, yet again, that we are the stewards of our environment.

Chief Edwards believes that we are always students of our environment. He believes that we constantly need to learn, and to learn as much and as quickly as we can, so we can start doing as soon as possible. To him, everywhere is a school – he himself considers himself educated at the “university of the longhouse,” where he learned all he knows about his people and Mother Earth. Furthermore, just as we must acknowledge that the Maple is the leader of all trees, and strawberries are the leader of all fruit, we must be the leaders as well, inciting positive change in our attitudes towards our environment. We must learn so we can look ahead to see that our decisions will not negatively impact not only the next generation, but the 7th generation to follow us.

Continuing with his tangents and anecdotes, Chief Edwards related to us the story of the five nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, and the parable of the arrows. One arrow, the story goes, is easily broken. But when you bundle one arrow from each of the nations with the binding of knowledge and the creator’s love, then they cannot be broken. So too we must be like the arrows, bound together by our common bonds. Together, we are much stronger and more effective.

Another anecdote reflected back on the Thanksgiving story, and how the Turkey almost became our national bird. Our forefathers were so happy about all that the turkey and the rest of the land had provided them, they looked for a way to show their gratitude. Instead of the turkey, however, our national bird became the Bald Eagle, since it can soar high above and screech to warn us of impending peril. According to Edwards, with respect to the environment, it has been screeching for a very long time.

According to Chief Edwards, we have a lot of work to do. There is an unwritten, unspoken part of the Wampam Belt Treaty made with George Washington. It says that to live in these woods where the pact was made, one must live in peace with and with respect for the woods and for the natural law, and you must live in balance with our mother, who is now upset with us for disrespecting her. He cites another anecdote, this time about a trip to a hydrofracking site in Pennsylvania. He noticed a bird that was sniffing to see if the water was safe. When Edwards inquired about the situation, he was horrified to learn that those running the operation believed that the environmental benefit of the natural gas acquired, combined with potential profit, outweighs the danger to the bird. Offended, Edwards asked him how he could possibly say that – how can one chose one over the other, when they are both the same and inseparable from each other?

Towards the end of his speech, Chief Edwards focused more directly on the topic at hand. According to him, we have a lot of work to do. How can we be expected to make decisions for future generations if we don’t understand where we are, and where we’ve been? We need to start reading between the lines of textbooks, and finding out the truth about our Earth. We need to learn about the history we share with our Mother in order to prepare the land for future generations. We need to do our part today so that the seventh generation, the generation that will be born when we are one hundred and twenty years old, will have pure water, clean air, and the other necessities of life.We’ve started on the right path, but we need to put our foot down, and demand more of others. We need to kill the notion of focusing on ourselves and our own lifetimes – we’re just passing through, and we’ve got work to do while we’re here. We need to work to nourish our mother back to help, which is an everyday job that will require the cooperation of everyone on the planet.

He closed with a poignant note from the United Nations Earth Charter:

First, do no harm to the Earth.

World Water Day

World Water Day 2012!

It’s March 22nd, so you know what that means? It’s the UN World Water Day! This year, it could not come as a more perfect time, as everyone in the Northeast is experiencing uncharacteristic heat, and therefore increased need for water. Since it’s establishment in 1993, World Water Day has served as a yearly reminder to the world that water is our most important research. Each year, a different theme is used, and is sponsored by a different UN/International organization. In the recent past, themes have included Sanitation (coordinated by UNICEF and WHO), Clean Water (organized by UNEP), and Water for Cities (Coordinated by UN-HABITAT). This year, the theme is the ever-important Water and Food Security: The World is Thirsty Because We Are Hungry.

“What does this theme cover?” you may ask. The idea of this year’s theme is to educate the world about something we don’t think about – how much water is used to make our food on a daily basis, and how the wastefulness of our modern food preparations methods. According to this year’s website, we drink an average of 2-4 liters of water each day, but most of that goes unnoticed, as it is consumed in our food. On top of that, gallons upon gallons (or liters upon liters) of water are wasted each day just preparing food. For example, it takes 15,000 liters of water to produce one kilo of beef, and 1,500 to produce one kilo of wheat. Modern processing methods, especially those that make canned food or foods with large amounts of preservatives also waste a ton of water. Worse yet, 30% of the world’s produced food goes uneaten – and all the water wasted.

The campaign this year encourages citizens of the world to help conserve water at all levels of the supply chain, recommending that everyone:

• Follow a healthier, sustainable diet;
• Consume less water-intensive products;
• Reduce the scandalous food wastage;
• Produce more food, of better quality, with
  less water.

One of the major aspects of this year’s campaign is the interactive activity/game from onedrop.org, which allows you to find out how much water your meal is using, and to try to figure out what meals you can make with the least wasted water! Try it out!

In short? Let’s all make small, personal changes that can basically save the world.

Shades of Green: Energy Efficiency

A few weeks ago, I attended the Shades of Green conference in Madison County, NY. One of the many topics covered in the breakout session was energy efficiency, covered by Sam Gordon of the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board. The presentation, “Home Energy Efficiency: Save Energy, Save Money, Save the Planet” was a perfect example about how being sustainable benefits you as well as the environment.

The session began with Mr. Gordon presenting a simple concept: The recommended temperature to save energy at home is 68 degrees. Yes, it’s that simple. Keep your home at an incredibly comfortable 68 degrees, and you save energy, and therefore money! He continues on to discuss other simple, easy, DIY energy conservation techniques. Gordon cites his own personal example: By replacing appliances, like his fridge and dehumidifier, and lightbulbs, with more energy efficient brands, as well as practicing basic conservation, such as turning off lights and unplugging appliances that don’t need to be running very often, he cut his home energy use in half. So what does this mean? He can now make his home greener by installing solar panels for electricity, but now he can cut the amount (and therefore the cost) in half, saving himself a ton of money.

Some statistics followed this example: Residential uses make up one fourth of US energy consumption. Another 28% is used for transportation. Within the home itself, 60% of energy is consumed by heating and cooling systems, another 16% for water heating, and 12% each for your refrigerator and lighting/other appliances. An interesting and surprising fact was that your cable box can actually use almost as much energy as your refrigerator – many people don’t realize this, but it’s plugged in, running all day, consuming energy – even when you’re not watching TV. The European Union actually has laws regarding these boxes, enforcing mandator energy efficiency standards.

So how do we encourage this kind of efficiency and sustainability? To those who have learned about it, things like changing to an EnergyStar dryer in your home is a clear win-win situation. However, many don’t realize the benefits to your wallet, and see changes like these as solely good for the environment. According to Gordon, people need to start by making a commitment to energy efficiency. To do this, however, we need to establish social norms that say it’s ok to talk about energy and sustainability in everyday conversation. Mr. Gordon wants it so that you can talk to your neighbors about their home energy efficiency just like you would exchange tips for lawn care or ask them for a good dentist’s phone number.

To do this, National Grid has started a pilot program in the CNY area. Participants receive a smiley or frowny face on their energy bills, which is assigned by comparing their home energy efficiency to that of the average consumer. The central idea behind this goes something like this: People talk about their lawns, because they receive feedback from others on the state of their lawns.Therefore, if people receive feedback about the state of their energy usage, they will talk about it with their neighbors as well. According to Gordon, this feedback serves as both personal and comparative motivation.

Lastly, Mr. Gordon discussed the new CNY Energy Challenge, another pilot program with two main goals: First, to educate CNY residents about energy usage/conservation, and second, to encourage and facilitate the discussion about energy and sustainability topics between neighbors. The program is made up of 80 people, starting first in the city of Syracuse. The people are organized into groups of households, headed by a facilitator, who work as a group and meet biweekly for 12 weeks. As part of the program, the households learn from a five unit curriculum, which covers topics such as: determining your energy intake, household lighting, powering down electronics, heating and cooling systems, and the Home Energy Audit. The units are designed to teach the mechanics of, reasons behind, and benefits of each topic discussed. The program has another benefit – 10% discounts at local stores to buy energy efficient products, in order to act upon what they are learning.

Once again, Mr. Gordon’s presentation has shown exactly what it is that people need to realize: Sustainability, especially energy efficiency and conservation, serves to benefit the environment, your neighborhood, and your wallet.

 

On another note, if you are a SU student and are interested in joining Eco-Reps, please email SUEcoReps@gmail.com.

Caught Green Handed: On Vacation

Myrtle Beach!

After a week of midterms, two days of traveling, and a slightly skeevy Super 8, (which all hopefully explain and justify the lack of recent posts,) I’ve finally arrived in Myrtle Beach, SC, and man, it is NICE! As I sit and look out at the beautiful beach and ocean, it hit me. This is what I’m working to save. Everything I’m doing here, with this blog, and with my life, is so that the world can continue to enjoy places as naturally incredible as these.

Another thing hit me, a little later in the day. As I came back to take a shower, I stumbled upon something I had seen many times, and in various permutations.

Reuse Towels, Don't Waste Water!

Think about the last time you went to a hotel – you definitely saw one of the little signs somewhere in your bathroom that reminded you to save water by reusing your towels. There’s even a universal code for how to tell the cleaning staff what you’re doing – dirty towels on the floor, ones you plan to reuse get hung up. But have you ever considered the logic behind all this? The history? The actual environmental impact? Well, I’ll answer the questions you’ve always had, and maybe even a few you never though of:

Let’s do a little Q &A:

Q: What environmental benefits do these policies have?

A: According to Practically Green, a hotel of 250 rooms operating at 80% capacity can expect to save 220,000 gallons of water each year (and $66,000!). Energy, too, is also saved, since most laundry is done in hot water, and therefore requires a lot of energy to heat it to the desired temperature, as well as to power the washing machines and dryers. Chemicals such as chlorine and bleach are often used as detergents, and a decrease in laundry-doing is equivalent to a decrease in the entrance of these chemicals into our environments. Also, many hotels donate a portion of saved funds to worthy environmental causes, which is just an added bonus.

Q: Why do guests follow these procedures?

A: It’s easy. Well, that’s part of it at least. But think about it – it’s the same as if you were at home, except instead of having to take your own towels out of the bathroom or make them neat, housekeeping will do it for you. But that doesn’t fully explain why people do it. One argument is they know that by saving water, the hotel saves money, and therefore charges them less, so by following the procedures, they’re saving themselves money. A Scientific American article points out an interesting observation to take into account. According to the article, people tend to reuse towels more if they think others are also doing the same. Oh, and let’s not forget pure, good-hearted interest in saving the environment as a reason to reuse hotel towels.

Q: Is it a law that there must be these signs in hotel rooms?

A: Nope. Though it might seem like it, since a vast majority of American hotels have the reusing polices and resulting signs, it is purely the hotel’s decision.

Q: If it’s not a law, why do hotels do it?

A: There’s a few reasons for that. First of all, there’s the obvious reason: to help the environment. Now, we all should hope that environmental sustainability is a core belief and goal of every person and organization in the world, but let’s not be too naive. So why do it? Well, there’s the idea of personal gain. The hotels that participate in these policies have something to gain from them. A hotel has plenty of space, but most of it is front of house, guest-accessible space, with little left for waste management – i.e. trash, recycling, and laundry. Therefore, to successfully manage waste, hotels need to actively and masterfully design their programs. So in terms of towels, if guests reuse even a fraction of the towels they use daily, that’s a whole bunch of towels that the hotel does not need to be washing, and therefore less space, time, personnel, and money they need to dedicate to laundry.Oh, and speaking of money, hotels pay utilities just like everyone else, so each towel they don’t wash saves them money on their water and energy bills, and therefore creates more profit for them. (Special thanks to Waste Management World for help with this one).

Hope you found this informative! Have questions you want answered? Let me know!

Spring into the Holidays with Green Ideas!

Both Easter and Passover, two cornerstone and quintessential Spring holidays, are fast approaching. Here’s a few things you can do to make your holidays more environmentally friendly, as well as having some good old family fun!

• Grow Your Own Easter Basket Grass:
  • Check out this post from Smiling Green Mom, an awesome Eco-Blog (Which is now becoming a part of Eco18)
  • As a quick summary, growing your own grass means no unrecyclable plastics littering your home or local landfill. It also gives you a fun family project that will save you money in the end.
• Grow Your Own Seder Plate
  • Passover is a Spring holiday, and is partially a celebration of new life. Why not celebrate the rebirth of plants by growingyour own?
  • The Passover Seder required a variety of herbs and vegetables, many that can be grown right in your kitchen while it’s still too cold outside.
  • Try using a an old tin can as a pot, and fill it with some soil and some parsley seeds. Water it for the next few weeks, and enjoy!

Hope you all get to use some of these tips! Have more tips for the holidays? Let me know!